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Who Pays My Medical Bills After a Car Accident?

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The short answer is the person who is responsible for a crash generally pays for medical bills related to the incident. However, the at-fault driver will pay for the medical bills usually as part of a lump-sum payment that is included in the entire settlement or verdict amount. In other words, a victim of a car crash is responsible for making sure his or her bills are paid or that the doctors, hospitals, or clinics providing treatment for their injuries resulting from the crash are willing to wait until their legal case is resolved to get paid. 

What If I Don’t Have Health Insurance?

Most auto insurance policies include medical payment coverage for medical bills incurred as a result of a car crash, but the limits are usually low, and it may only cover a relatively small amount of bills. Once that coverage is exhausted, you can request that a doctor or treatment facility place a lien on an outstanding bill. This means that the doctor or medical office agrees to wait to get paid until the legal matter is concluded and funds are recovered from the negligent driver. However, medical offices typically do not agree to provide treatment on a lien basis unless their patient is represented by an attorney. 

What If The Other Side Blames Me For The Crash?

Damages in injury cases in Illinois are apportioned based on fault, unless the person filing the claim is more than 50% at fault. Put another way, if a negligent driver is 100% at fault for a crash, that person should pay 100% of the damages related to the case. If the person bringing a lawsuit is determined to be partially at fault for his or her injuries, that person will be responsible for the amount of damages proportionate to his or her percentage of fault. So, if the Plaintiff is determined to be 10% at fault, that percentage remains his or her responsibility. However, if it is determined that the Plaintiff is more than 50% at fault for his or her own injuries, that person will recover nothing. 

Why Do I Have to Pay At All If It Wasn’t My Fault?

It seems unfair. When a negligent driver causes injuries and property damage, the victims of the crash now have to try and put their lives back together. Everyone has their routines and responsibilities – the things they have to take care of day to day. Avoidable car crashes disrupt all of that. They make you late to wherever you were headed. They injure you, sometimes irreparably. They can cause stress. Yet, very often, the financial burden of immediate aftermath of a crash falls on the victim.

You have to get your car fixed. You have to go to the doctor. You lose time and pay at work. Often, it isn’t until the legal process is completed that these damages are addressed. Also, if a negligent driver who causes a crash has insufficient, or no insurance, you have to rely on your own auto policy to cover the cost of your vehicle and your medical expenses, pain and suffering, loss of normal life, lost wages, etc.

One thing people can do to mitigate this problem is to purchase the most auto insurance coverage their budget will allow. The more coverage you have, the less risk you take when sharing the road with underinsured drivers. Illinois law requires auto policies issued in the state to include insurance that covers the policy holder and others covered by the policy if they are hurt by a driver who has no insurance or doesn’t have enough insurance.  Negligent drivers should be held responsible when they cause damage, but if they don’t have enough insurance or money to pay for the damages they cause, it’s better to cover yourself to the full extent that you can.

Medical Bills Can Often Be Negotiated

If you’re hurt in a crash, medical bills can pile up in a hurry. If you have medical insurance that covers the bills initially, or you find a doctor that will treat you on a lien basis, there may be an opportunity to save on medical expenses once your case is settled by negotiating with the medical bill lien holders. There are statutes in Illinois that govern how medical bill and insurance liens are calculated in Illinois. Having the help of an experienced injury attorney to help you navigate these rules can make the process of resolving these issues much easier and more efficient than trying to figure it all out on your own.

Avoiding crashes altogether is, of course, the preferred outcome in any situation. Each person who ventures to travel anywhere, whether for work, fun, or chores, should strive to act as safely as possible. Still, we all know that we live in an imperfect world where not everyone does the right thing all the time, or even what they are supposed to do. Knowing what to expect and who to turn to if things go wrong, is a much better way to approach the hazards we all face when we venture out on to the road.

Who Pays for My Car After a Crash?

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It is possible to follow all the rules of the road and still find yourself in a motor vehicle collision. If another driver acts unreasonably and crashes into your car, damaging your vehicle, you can make a claim to insurance for property damage. There are a few things that need to be considered before determining who actually pays.

Who caused the damage?

In Illinois, you can make a claim against another driver’s car insurance policy for your property damage if that person was responsible for the crash. If you have collision coverage on your own policy, you can seek compensation that way, too. It is usually your choice as to which policy to request payment from. Here is a list of a few things you can expect depending on which route you take:

Your Insurance

  • There may be less of a wait because your car insurance company will generally pay for the damage to your car without having to determine who is at fault in a crash. You contracted with that company to provide coverage for the possibility of your car being damaged. That is what it’s there for.
  • If you choose your policy to pay for your property damage, you will most likely have to pay your own deductible. $500 is a common deductible amount for auto collision policies in Illinois. That is the portion you have to pay out of pocket when your car insurance company pays for your property damage. If the other driver is at fault for the crash that caused damage to your car, your insurance company may be able to recover your deductible from the other driver’s insurance and reimburse you.
  • If you purchased minimal insurance that only provides liability coverage and no collision coverage, your car insurance company is not obligated to pay for your car regardless of how it was damaged. In this scenario, for the other driver’s insurance company to voluntarily pay for your property damage, they will likely have to accept full responsibility for the collision on behalf of their insured. Without either an admission of fault by the other side or a determination of fault you may not be able to recover your damages from insurance. For this reason, it’s always better to purchase collision coverage if you can afford it.

The Other Party’s Insurance

  • Regardless of how a crash occurs, insurance companies want to determine the estimated cost of repairs or a total loss before issuing any payments. When dealing with another party’s insurance policy, the process of scheduling an inspection can get delayed if the adjuster has not completed his or her investigation or determined who was responsible for the crash.
  • An insurance adjuster for the other driver might decide that he or she thinks you are partly to blame for a crash and will want to discount their property damage compensation offer accordingly.
  • If the other party’s insurance accepts full responsibility for a crash, you will not have to pay a deductible.

What is my car worth?

If your vehicle is determined to be a total loss after a crash, an insurance company will be unlikely to pay for it to be repaired. Instead, as long as the damage is covered by the policy, the company will issue a check for the value of the car before it was essentially destroyed. In other words, if a car is damaged so much that the cost of repairs is more than what the car is worth, it’s considered a total loss.

The value of the car is based on what you could get for it if you were to sell it. Put another way, it’s the market value. That is why it’s important, when financing a car, to make sure you have adequate insurance coverage for collisions and, not to borrow more money to pay for a car than what the car is worth. If you borrow money from a bank, credit union, or dealership to pay for a car and it gets wrecked in a crash, you will have to pay back the money you borrowed to finance the car regardless of how much the car is worth. The loan amount and the value of the car are two separate things that don’t always match up. You may want to consider this when you are looking to purchase a new or used ride.

The bottom line is that it’s wise to purchase as much insurance coverage as your budget will allow. It’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

Safety Tips for Chicago Bicyclists

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Chicago’s mostly cold. Cold weather makes for hardy people who drink black coffee, eat pizza that’s really a casserole, and put hot peppers on everything. People from Illinois also know how to navigate in the snow without a dogsled. And, they don’t lose their cool when the roads are slippery, even when riding a bicycle. 

Chicago is a city that has a lot of people riding around on bicycles in all types of weather conditions, even those few weeks and months when the sun comes out of hiding. Bicycling is so popular here that Divvy, Chicago’s bicycle share program, is set to expand its coverage over the entire City by 2021. Currently, there is no service on the West Side, the Far South Side, or the Far Northwest Side. 

With even more people riding around on bikes than ever before, making sure everybody gets to their destination safely is, or at least should be everybody’s number one priority when it comes to transportation. 

There is no such thing as an accident

The word accident implies that the unfortunate or terrible thing that happened was unavoidable. A car crash is almost never an accident because a car crash is often times avoidable. Crashes occur when someone makes a poor choice. People drive drunk. They look at their phones while driving. They get behind the wheel when they haven’t had enough sleep and drive fatigued. Choices like these can lead to grave consequences especially when a car hits a bicycle.                                         

The U.S. Department of Transportation reported that 783 cyclists were killed in traffic crashes nationwide in 2017. There are steps that drivers and cyclists can take to decrease that number, if not eliminate bicycle traffic deaths altogether. 

Know the statistics

The U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations maintains statistics on traffic deathseach year. 

  • Regardless of what time of year it is, the highest percentage of bicycle deaths happen between the hours of 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. 
  • Over 70% of cyclist fatalities occur in urban as opposed to rural areas. 
  • Alcohol use was reported in 35% of fatal crashes involving bicycles.  

Get to know the rules of the road

Cyclists in Illinois are required to follow the same traffic rulesthat apply to motorists. This also means that bike riders generally have the same rights as drivers do. Drivers need to give cyclists enough space to travel safely. The Chicago Municipal Code prohibits cars from driving, standing, or parking in a bike lane. Cyclists should generally keep as far to the right as is practically possible, with a few exceptions. Both bike riders and drivers should remember that they have to share the road and that keeping a proper lookout for other travelers is paramount. 

Don’t get distracted

Distracted driving is a big problem. This applies to people riding bikes as well. Not only that, but walking around in Chicago, you’re bound to see pedestrians looking down at their phones, too. Standing on the side walk and looking at your phone may be excusable, if not annoying to some, but propelling any form of transportation forward on city streets requires a person’s undivided attention. 

We’ve all heard that texting and driving can kill. According to U.S. Government statistics, 1 in 10 fatal crashes involve people who were distracted while driving; an entirely preventable statistic. There is no excuse for pulling your phone out if you’re driving or if you’re riding a bike. Just pull over. Even the most important phone call can wait when it’s a matter of life or death. 

If in doubt, learn to ride

The Chicago Department of Transportationand Divvy are offering free bicycle riding classeswith limited spots this summer. The classes are meant to help adults who never learned to ride a bike or haven’t ridden in a long time to ride with confidence and to feel comfortable riding on Chicago’s city streets. Space for these classes is limited. Classes may be open to children based on availability. Divvy will provide bikes to participants over the age of 16 because the program doesn’t allow kids under 16 to use its bikes. Participants under age 16 will have to provide their own bikes. 

Kids Under 2 Require Rear Facing Child Seats in Illinois

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Effective January 1, 2019, the Illinois legislature amended the law known as the Illinois Child Passenger Protection Act, requiring children under two years old to ride in rear facing child seats unless they weigh more than 40 pounds. This rule change also includes new fines. Violators will be assessed $75 for the first offense, and $200 for each subsequent failure to comply.

Illinois law already required children under 8 to ride in a secure child safety seat. A child’s safety is, of course, the reasoning behind these regulations.

A study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 35% of kids under age 12 that died in car crashes in 2016 in this country were not properly restrained. That means, that of the 732 motor vehicle crash deaths in that age group, at least 256 stories may have gone differently. That’s hundreds of families who might have had a different outcome.

Because Illinois law considers the first violation to be a petty offense, a person who has been charged with violating the Illinois Child Passenger Protection Act for the first time may avoid a conviction by successfully completing a child passenger safety instructional course and proving proof in court that they have a proper child safety seat for their vehicle.

Parents or guardians who have questions about how properly install child safety seats should reach out for help. One resource could be your local fire department. There are certified child passenger safety technicians who are available to help at firehouses, police stations, and sometimes hospitals. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration keeps a list that can be found here: http://www.nhtsa.gov/cps/cpsfitting/index.cfm

Chicago residents can find help by phone too:

Chicago Police Department: Dial 311
Chicago Fire Department: 312-747-6691

Have you looked at your insurance policy lately?

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It never hurts to brush up

Like most states, Illinois requires drivers to a carry a minimum of $25,000 in liability coverage, a relatively low number compared to other states.

It’s called the mandatory insurance law,  enacted in 1989 and updated in 2013, which increased the mandatory minimum from $20,000 to $25,000. The idea was to protect drivers from spending out-of-pocket for accident claims. It was a victory for Representative Laura Fine, a Glenview Democrat and sponsor of the bill, whose husband was involved in a severe accident that forced responders to amputate his arm. Fine recalled later that she and her family were at the mercy of astronomically high medical bills.

The new provisions of the mandatory minimum went into effect more than two years ago, yet it feels as though we’re still revealing what drivers should already know. The insurance laws in Illinois call for two forms of insurance coverage—liability and uninsured motorist coverage. Both types protect you in different ways. If you’re a driver, it’s important to understand what types coverage you’re required to carry. It’s also important to know what types of optional insurance coverage exist and how they work. Here’s a short refresher.

Mandatory Insurance in the State of Illinois

Liability: $25,000 per person. A requirement under most state laws that covers the costs associated with an accident that you were responsible for causing. That accounts for bodily injuries and property damage. It’s the most common type of insurance coverage, which is intended to provide financial assistance to the other party involved.

Uninsured and Underinsured: Coverage against uninsured and underinsured (UM/UIM) drivers is required in Illinois. In 2011, the Insurance Research Council found that one in seven drivers were uninsured. Uninsured motorist coverage protects you in the event that another driver is responsible for a crash, but doesn’t carry insurance. Underinsurance coverage is similar, in the sense that it protects you if the at-fault driver’s liability insurance is too low to cover costs of an accident. Illinois is one of 21 states that requires uninsured and underinsured coverage. By law, the UM/UIM policy limit equals your liability policy limit.

Optional Insurance

Collision insurance: Covers damages to your car in the event of a crash

Comprehensive: Pays for repairs in non-accident related damages to your car (i.e. an act of vandalism)

Medical payments: Covers medical costs if you’re injured in or by a motor vehicle

Uninsured property motorist damage: Covers damages to your car after an accident with an uninsured driver